Chapter 16
Devan
O ur first date.
Justin didn’t deny it. The bouquet of fresh daisies on the seat between us and the fact I’m in his truck are both proof that it’s real. Music blares from the speakers as he turns on the truck and rolls down the windows.
We don’t talk as he drives us down Main Street on our way out of town.
I barely move. My pulse is racing as we pass familiar stores, the diner, and Bob’s, a local tavern.
I feel like there’s a spotlight on us, yet the people walking along the sidewalks don’t seem to notice.
The farther out of town we get, the more open fields and fewer structures we pass and the less my nerves are on edge.
Smiling, I lift my face to the breeze as his truck bounces along back roads toward Empire Quarry.
Trees lining the roads are filled with green leaves.
The world is alive with summer growth. The quarry where we’re going is near Bedford.
It got its name because it’s famous for providing the nearly twenty thousand tons of limestone needed to construct the Empire State Building.
My science geek comes out as I start thinking about the composition of limestone, a sedimentary rock principally composed of calcium carbonate or calcite and aragonite, a crystal form of calcium carbonate. Tiny fossils, shell fragments, and debris are also often found within it.
Justin turns the radio down and grins. “What are you thinking?”
I laugh. “You don’t want to know.”
“I do.”
“I was thinking about the quarry and the composition of limestone. Did you know that most of the limestone was formed by either a chemical or biochemical process that occurred about 300 million years ago?”
He turns my direction, his eyes huge.
Covering my face, I laugh. “Sorry. I’m a science geek. I love earth science.”
“I did know that...about the composition, not that you love earth science.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, while my major at Purdue was agriculture and I also studied business, my favorite subject was geology.”
“Really?” I asked, surprised.
“Yeah, well, I don’t often throw around my geological knowledge. If I did, I’d have every woman in Indiana after me.”
“You would. It’s damn sexy to hear a guy talk about the lithosphere, mantle, outer core, and inner core.”
Justin laughs. “You’re giving away your secrets. You want a man who can recite the chemical composition and minerals in the lithosphere.”
“You definitely have me figured out.”
“Have you ever gone swimming in the quarries?” he asks.
I turn his direction. “Don’t tell me your plans for tonight include swimming. I didn’t bring a swimsuit.”
His smile quirks. “That wasn’t my plan, but it’s sounding better all the time.”
“I only swam in a quarry once. It was up at Sanders Quarry.” I shiver. “People were jumping off the rooftop.”
Justin’s eyes open wide as he turns from the road to me and back. “Did you jump?”
“No,” I say definitively with a shake of my head. “I wouldn’t say I’m afraid of heights, but plunging from seventy feet in the air into water surrounded by some of the hardest rock formations around isn’t my idea of fun.”
“I did it,” Justin admits. “And if you tell Ricky what I’m about to say, I’ll never share another secret.”
Warmth fills my cheeks that Justin wants to share a secret. I lift my right hand. “I swear.”
His strong hands grip the steering wheel.
“It was one summer after high school. Cory had been in Bloomington for school. I think it was after our freshman year. I had been up in West Lafayette. He and I got into a Purdue versus IU debate, and Cory dared us to go up to Bloomington to Sanders Quarry. The place was packed.”
“Despite the no-trespassing signs,” I add, remembering them from when I was there.
“Right.” He sighs. “Cory was the first to jump.” He turns my direction. “I’m not afraid of heights.”
“I believe you.”
“Then Galvin and Nick jumped. I was next, and I swear to God, I was scared shitless. Those few seconds when you’re in the air and the limestone wall is right there…” He shakes his head. “When we all climbed out, everyone was saying how fun it was.” He turns my way. “Yeah, not fun.”
I can’t help but laugh. “You went further than I did. I swam, but not by jumping off the rooftop. And it was cold.”
“Freezing.”
“Can I assume there’s no swimming in tonight’s plans?”
“We could go to Lake Monroe one day. The water is a lot warmer.”
I like that he’s talking about the future. “That would be nice.”
Justin pulls his truck along the side of a back road. The tires crunch the gravel beneath. “It’s not too long of a walk from here.”
I’m wearing a dress and sandals, not exactly hiking apparel, and yet in that moment, I’m willing to follow Justin Sheers anywhere.
A few minutes later, with a picnic basket in one hand and a blanket draped over his shoulder, Justin offers me his hand.
Looking down at his wide palm and outstretched fingers, I smile, my gaze going back to his blue eyes. “You want to hold my hand?”
He shrugs. “I don’t want you to fall. The path is kind of narrow.”
Laying my hand in his, I watch as his fingers surround it and decide I know.
I’ll follow Justin anywhere he leads me.
His touch is warm and steady. The strength I witnessed as he lifted boxes and furniture is still present, only gentler and more protective. Not only is he ten years older than I, but he’s also much taller and wider, making me feel safe from whatever or whomever we could cross along our journey.
He was right. The path is narrow with long grass and saplings on each side.
We walk in and out of the shadows of tall trees as chipmunks, squirrels, and other small creatures scatter in the underbrush and birds watch us from branches high above.
When we emerge from the trees, we’re atop a flat sheet of limestone, probably twenty feet wide.
At the other side is a drop off. The turquoise-blue water of the quarry is below.
Justin releases my hand, and I turn a complete circle. The green leaves against the sapphire sky sway in the summer breeze. And within the quarry down below, the water is still, not a ripple mars it, creating a mirror of the scene above. “This is beautiful. How did you find this spot?”
Justin lays out the blanket and shrugs. “I’ve been here before.”
“With another girl?” The question slips out before I can stop it. “Never mind.”
“Yes,” he says. “I’m not going to lie to you, Devan. That said, it was a long time ago.” He sits on the blanket. “I remembered this place.” He looks around. “How secluded and nice it is here.” His blue orbs meet mine. “And I wanted to share it with you.”
I sit near him, both of us facing the water. The rock’s warmth penetrates the material. “It’s okay.” I turn to him with a grin. “I’m glad you want to share it with me. I guess I’m surprised there aren’t more people here.”
He lies back, propping his elbow on the blanket and holding up his head. His sexy blue stare is focused on me in a way that makes me warm and covers me with goose bumps at the same time.
His deep voice is smooth and easy. “It’s because the access road for the quarry is a few miles from where I parked. It’s blocked by a locked gate and has big no-trespassing signs. The way we came in…not a lot of people know about it.”
“We’re trespassing?” I ask. “Could we be arrested?”
Justin smirks. “More likely we’d be told to leave. I think there are more pressing crimes for the police or sheriff to worry about.” He winks. “Don’t worry. If it happens, I’ll take full blame. I kidnapped you.”
“I went willingly.”
I’m struck by how handsome I think Justin is.
With his long legs covered by blue jeans and his blue t-shirt stretched over his wide chest, he has a rugged appearance.
The way his arm is flexed shows the bulge of muscle in his bicep.
His auburn hair is no longer damp but messy and windblown from our drive.
And under the summer sky, his eyes are strikingly blue.
“I can’t believe you wanted to bring me here,” I finally say.
He pushes himself up to sitting and leans closer. After only a second’s hesitation, his lips come to mine. Our bodies are drawn to one another as our kiss deepens.
By the time we pull back for air, Justin laughs. “I’d like to keep kissing you.” His smile grows. “But from the sounds of your stomach, I should feed you first.”
Laughing, I cover my stomach with my hands. “That’s so embarrassing.”
“I think it’s cute.”
Great.
Cute.
After opening the picnic basket, Justin starts to remove the contents when he catches my expression. “What did I say?”
“You said I’m cute, as in a puppy.”
“Oh fuck no. You’re cute as in perfect, stunning, gorgeous, and you take my breath away.” Setting down a container, he reaches for my hand. “I’m not the best with words, but you can be assured cute will never be meant as a derogatory term. And… I adore puppies. So, no, not a bad analogy.”
I have the flash of an image of grumpy Justin Sheers on the floor with a puppy, laughing and playing. Shaking that imagery away, I open the plastic container and find fresh strawberries. Plucking one from the bowl, I put it in my mouth. The sweet fruit bursts with juice. “Mmmm. It’s delicious.”
His voice is deep. “I’m suddenly thinking things I shouldn’t about you and those strawberries.”
My cheeks warm.
He goes on, removing more things from the basket. “Full disclosure, I didn’t cook the strawberries. I didn’t really cook.” After removing paper plates, plastic ware, and napkins, he pulls out two sandwiches. I recognize the paper as from the local deli. “Turkey or roast beef?”
“Both,” I say.
Justin opens the paper and places one half of the turkey on one plate and the other half on the other. He does the same with the roast beef.
My mouth is watering and my stomach’s still growling. “Condiments?”
He removes individual packets of ketchup and mustard. His stare meets mine with a devilish grin. “Did I forget something?”